Not adjusting well :(

We have recently moved house, and our one year old male cat has not adjusted well to the move. Whilst we were moving everything in to the new house, he was kept in the laundry with all the necessities (food, water, litter tray, etc.) but since then, we have been going through this vicious cycle. He wants to go outside, but when he does, he just holes himself up underneath the house and won't come out, not even for food which he usually loves. If we keep him inside, he just howls and howls to go outside. I am at a loss at what could be wrong, as he is not his usual happy, outgoing self, and have no idea how we can help him adjust to our new home. We try to make him feel better by giving him plenty of cuddled and petting him lots, but unfortunately it's only a temporary fix

Any ideas on what might be wrong or what we could do to help will be greatly appreciated

I am very sorry your cat seems so disressed following your house move. I have not had this experience as when I moved my previous cats to another home temporarily they did settle after a couple of days - initially one of them walked from one end of the house to the other, staring and me and growling for a whole day but once she settled with me at night she was fine. They were both indoor cats. I would tend to err on the safe side and keep him indoors just now despite the yeowling. I hope he is eating and toileting alright since the move. It is likely that the lack of familiar smells and the different spaces is unsettling for him, and there may be other cats in the neighbourhood that he can see from indoors.Try to get him comfortable and familiar with the new home before letting him out, and use Feliway if you need to to settle him.

I agree with all of the above, if it's been recent he might get scared by something and bolt. In a strange neighborhood that would be awful. I'd definitely keep him inside for now, he's probably yowling because he doesn't like being in a strange place. He will come around, it just might take a few weeks to a few months. Give him lot's of reassurance and loving, he's scared and unsure of himself. Good luck!

i'm sorry to hear he's having such a hard time with the move. like @MServant and @Di and Bob said, indoors is best for now. He might be freaking out, or not being himself due to the fact that he probably does sense other animals around, and maybe where you moved into, has had other animals living their prior...who knows.

I've never used these myself, but try getting a feliway diffusor, or a feliway collar... it might help him some. I hope others chime in , they might have better info on the diffusers and collars.